Weekend Bookworm: My Superhero

It used to be easy to be a superhero. Don a mask, throw a towel over your shoulders, and maybe wear your underpants on the outside of your trousers.

The really daring could jump off high walls or garage roofs: a broken bone was guaranteed hero status, super or not.

Many years ago, my Grandma worked in what could accurately be described a sweatshop close to the notorious Stangeways prison on the fringes of Manchester city centre.

Jewish clothing manufacturers had long been established in that part of town and Grandma dutifully put in long hours; a hard worker, a smile on her face, a huge Star of David on a chain around her neck and as many gold rings as she had fingers.

Jimmy worked there too. He liked boys instead of girls - the word "gay" meant happy in those days - and, although the women gossiped that he liked to wear ladies tights under his jeans, Jimmy was tolerated and had the biggest heart in the building.

A long time later, Jimmy would patch my jeans so I could look like a punk, but when I was little he made me my very first - and only - Batman outfit.

I was never brave enough to jump off high walls (although my brother was) but I was the proudest kid in the street. My mask was a proper one and my cape was made of a shiny black cloth. Black Batman undies were sewn into grey leggings and I was, quite simply, invincible.

Chris Owen obviously knows all about superheroes too.

"Superheroes - usually are tall and very muscly.They're often blessed with handsome looks,and spend their weekends catching crooks."

All the superheroes in the book have one thing in common however: they are animals. Numbats, bears, armadillos, whales and cheetahs. Elephants, eagles, goats and even beetles have amazing abilities and secret skills which would shame the bravest of caped crusaders.

The end of the book contains a page detailing all the facts about each animal featured in the story but, more importantly, the rhyme and repetition in the story invite even the youngest or most reluctant reader to join in. After each animal's powers are revealed, it's "KABOOM! KAPOW! KABAM! KASPLAT! My superhero's not like that."

Just who or what is the superhero who is "not like that"? The rhyming text is beautifully complemented by Moira Court's highly original illustrations. Bold and endearing, her animal superheroes leap out at the reader and enhance the thrill and expectation of how the story will unfold.

Like the rhyming pattern, the message of the book itself is both charming and deceptively simple: all those superheroes are pretty special and have some amazing powers but, right at the end, all is revealed.

"KABOOM! KAPOW! KABAM! KASPLAT! My superhero's more than that. He's not as strong. He's not as tough. But ... He's my Dad - and that's enough."

My Superhero is an adorable book. Vibrant rhymes and engagingly illustrated, what could be better than an ending which acknowledges that Dad is the best superhero of all?